ESCP awards Nuri Okkabaz prestigious Lars Påhlman EBSQ medal

The European Society of Coloproctologists (ESCP) has awarded the Lars Påhlman EBSQ medal to Dr Nuri Okkabaz from Bağcılar Training and Research Hospital in Istanbul, Turkey. Nuri Okkabaz was awarded the Lars Påhlman medal at the 2018 ESCP meeting after obtaining the highest score in the 2017 European Board of Surgery Qualification (EBSQ) exam, during a ceremony at the ESCP’s annual meeting in France 2018.

Okkabaz, a gastrointestinal surgeon, with a special interest in colorectal, cancer and abdominal surgery, is the third person to receive the medal, which is named after late EBSQ honorary member Professor Lars Påhlman.

“I believe in subspecialisation in surgery and as a GI surgeon, most of my practice is colorectal surgery. However, there is no colorectal certification in my country and I greatly appreciate ESCP and the UEMS section of surgery that provides surgeons around Europe with the opportunity to prove themselves and attain the coloproctologist certificate,” said Okkabaz. “The EBSQ was a stimulating challenge and it is a great honour to be one the first to receive the prestigious Lars Påhlman medal.”

The EBSQ exam is the first of its kind looking at the colorectal sub-specialty in Europe. To be eligible to sit the exam, candidates must demonstrate that they are future opinion leaders in the management of colorectal diseases in their country and have completed a minimum of seven years of specialist surgical training. As part of the exam, candidates must complete a written paper, discuss specific patient problems, assess ten to 12 patient scenarios, examine specimens and critically appraise a paper written by one of their peers.

“This medal is a tribute to Lars Påhlman’s achievements and contributions to coloproctology in general and to training and education in particular,” said Professor Emmanuel Tiret, past-ESCP President, who presented the award at the ESCP 2018 meeting.

Lars Påhlman was one of the key figures in the early years of the ESCP and was devoted to establishing and strengthening coloproctology as a surgical subspecialty in Europe. To achieve that goal he chaired the EBSQ Coloproctology within the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS) for many years.

Following his premature death in 2015, the European Society for Coloproctology established the Lars Påhlman medal to be awarded annually to the candidate with the highest score in the EBSQ examination. The EBSQ qualification is the only way to prove specialist skills and competences in coloproctology.

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